‘D’ primed to Cowboy up

DBs getting quicker on draw

Credit: Nancy Lane

TURNING THE CORNER: Devin McCourty (32), shown stretching alongside Shaun Ellis, hopes the defense can continue to play well Sunday against Dallas.

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FOXBORO — It would be an understatement to say the Patriots secondary had issues during the first four weeks of the season. And giving up pass plays of more than 20 yards was the unit’s biggest problem.

Opposing quarterbacks combined to complete 30 such passes for a total of 1,507 yards.

So, after holding Jets QB Mark Sanchez to 166 yards and only two passes of more than 20 yards in last weekend’s win, the defense has some much-needed momentum heading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys at Gillette Stadium.

“I think the biggest confidence booster is in practice each week. We’re practicing better as a defense, and I think it’s showing on Sundays,” cornerback Devin McCourty said. “Right now we’re trying to keep that going. Keep on having good practices and putting it together and give us the confidence to go out there on Sundays and play confident, trust our abilities, trust what we’ve done all week.”

Despite the Pats’ 3-1 start, many were worried about the team’s lackluster secondary and for good reason — it was allowing a ton of yards.

In Week 1 against Miami, Chad Henne (416 yards) completed 10 passes of 20-or-more yards. In Week 2 against San Diego, Philip Rivers (378 yards) completed six such plays, including five in the first half. In Week 3 against Buffalo, Ryan Fitzpatrick (369 yards) totaled seven big pass plays, including three in the fourth quarter. And in Week 4 against Oakland, Jason Campbell (344 yards) completed seven passes of 20-or-more yards.

Last Sunday was undoubtedly a step in the right direction for the Pats secondary, which allowed just nine passes for first downs. Many noted that success was due to the Patriots playing zone rather than man-to-man, but McCourty said the defense has to be ready no matter which set is called.

“It depends on the game plan. Sometimes we’re in zone, sometimes we’re in man,” he said. “As a secondary player I think we try to improve each one of those techniques with whatever we’re playing in and however we’re using it. As a focus of ours, we’re going in there, and if the pass yards are down that’s our job. We’ve got to try to keep that down and keep playing well.”

McCourty said the difference against the Jets was not hard to figure out.

“Better play. Guys are making more plays and getting off the field,” he said. “We have to continue doing that. It’s not easy but it’s simple — if you play better, those yards and stuff will go down.”